California hits new solar power production record

California ISO (Independent System Operator) is reporting that California hit a new record in solar power production earlier this week.

According to officials, the new record of 8,030 megawatts was reached on Tuesday at 1:06 p.m. They said this is nearly twice the amount of solar energy produced in mid-2014 and nearly 2,000 megawatts higher than in May of 2015.

“This solar production record demonstrates that California is making significant strides forward in connecting low carbon resources to the grid in meeting the state’s goal of reaching 33 percent renewables by 2020,” said ISO President and CEO Steve Berberich.

California continues to lead the nation in adding clean resources to the system and writing a playbook for operating a low carbon grid, Berberich said in the release.

“Solar and wind combined with the other Renewables Portfolio Standard resources to provide nearly 29 percent of the electricity needs at Tuesday’s system peak, which occurred at 5:54 p.m.,” Berberich added.

According to the release, for short periods of time on May 14 and 15, 2016, renewables were serving 54 percent and 56 percent of demand, respectively. California leads the nation interconnecting renewable resources with total clean capacity as of this date, at about 18,718 megawatts.

Solar resources make up nearly 8,600 megawatts while wind resources total about 6,000 megawatts, which compose one-third of all renewables on the grid, officials said.

Geothermal, biofuels, small hydro-electricity and energy storage round out California’s renewables portfolio standard resources, the California ISO reported Thursday.